Action Needed: $9.1B for TX Schools & Teachers

email advocacy
6542 / 15000 have signed

6542 / 15000 Have Signed

Dear [Your Elected Official],

I know that lawmakers face many competing priorities during the final weeks of legislative sessions. I’m writing to urge you to make funding our public schools and paying our teachers one of your top priorities as this legislative session comes to a close. Tell leadership and budget writers to make sure that at least $9.1 billion in new funding goes to public schools and teachers this session.

$9.1 billion in new funding for public education is currently laid out in the House version of the budget:
$7.7 billion is dedicated to House Bill 2, the primary school finance bill.

More than $1.4 billion supports other other public education priorities, including at least:
$400 million for school safety
$500 million for career and technical education
$500 million for early literacy and numeracy
$62 million for virtual education

Although the state has enjoyed unprecedented surpluses in the last two legislative sessions, our schools have received no increase in state funding since 2019. Combined with historic inflation, this means that the average teacher salary is effectively $5,000 less than it was in 2020, and that schools are attempting to maintain operations with effectively $1,340 less per student.

I appreciate that both the Senate and the House are committed to investing in teacher pay and school funding this session. It will take multiple legislative sessions to fund our schools competitively with the rest of the country. Right now, it is crucial that the legislature do its utmost for our 5.5 million public school students by ensuring at least $9.1 billion in new school funding this session.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your City & State]

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Summary

Texas schools are at a breaking point. Since 2019, our public schools have received no new state funding, creating an acute budget crisis that directly impacts our students and communities. Across the state, campuses are closing; programs are being shut down; and key personnel are being let go or their positions are going unfilled. The Texas legislature decides how much money each Texas school district receives. Right now, the Texas House and Texas Senate are in the midst of critical negotiations that will decide how much additional funding schools receive, including what sort of raise teachers can expect, for the next two years. In April, the House passed a broad school funding bill that included new flexible dollars for schools. The Senate focused its efforts this session on creating a new permanent allotment to support statewide teacher pay raises. The truth is, we need both. The highest amount of overall new funding on the table is $9.1 billion, found in the House’s version of the state budget. Our schools would need an additional $19.6 billion simply to keep up with inflation since 2019. It will take more than one legislative session for schools to regain their 2019 purchasing power. Now is the time to tell lawmakers our schools and our teachers need at least the full $9.1 billion included in the House version of the budget–and not a cent less.

Who will receive your email?

Your State Senator, State Representative and State Lt. Governor